1. Field of the Invention
The invention pertains to the field of support stands for work pieces and more particularly to rotatable stands for holding and rotating cakes during the cake decoration process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A cake as it is taken from the oven, or assembled with layers as taken from the oven, without icing decorations is incomplete, appears bare, and does not present a sufficiently appetizing appearance to attract appreciable customer attention. Additionally, to many customers the icing on the cake is the main taste attraction. Icing decorations are applied to all the bare surfaces of the cake while the cake is on a rotatable stand to allow the decorator to rotate the cake while applying the icing.
One rotatable stand of the prior art utilized a tray with a centered post or spindle on the underside. This post, which possesses a conically tapered end section, is inserted into a hollow tube, which has a matching conically tapered inner end, protruding from a base section. The dimensions of the base and the length of the tube insure stability of the post supported trays as the post is rotated in the hollow tube. Since the post cannot be removed from the tray, the decorated cake must be taken from the tray for display and sale.
Another rotatable stand of the prior art, mainly for non-professional use, has a circular lip on the underside of the rotatable tray wherewithin a ball bearing ring is placed. A ball bearing ring retaining section, with a circular channel into which the bearing ring is held, is positioned within the circular lip beneath the ball bearing ring and held permanently in place by tabs protruding inwardly from the end of the circular lip over a circular portion of the retaining section which extends perpendicularly from the ring holding channel. This portion of the bearing ring retaining section has an outer diameter sufficiently smaller than the inner diameter of the lip to allow easy rotation of the tray. The clearance provided for easy rotation, however, allows lateral motion of the tray as it rotates, which may effect the decoration. The ring retaining section also serves as the base of the stand. Additionally, the overall height of this section is in the order of one quarter of an inch, which does not provide sufficient clearance from the table top, on which the rotating stand is placed, nor may the tray be removed from the assembly, necessitating the removal of the cake for display and sale.